The President appoints members to ad hoc committees, such as selection committees for a new publisher, editor, or executive director, and other committees that may be needed to assist with specific issues.

The President-Elect appoints members to the following committees:

Awards Committees

There are three members on each committee, and the
appointments are made by February. Committee members appointed in a given
year make their selections in the autumn and winter of that year, and the chair
of each committee presents the award the following year during the Business
Meeting at the Annual Conference. (The appointments for the Herb Simon Award
Committee are made after receiving suggestions from the President of the
Midwest Public Administration Caucus.)

The following committees have been charged with selecting recipients of awards for outstanding papers delivered at the 2016 MPSA conference. Winners will be announced at the 2017 conference.

Best Paper by an Emerging ScholarA $250 award for the best paper, regardless of field or topic, by a scholar or scholars who has or have received the terminal degree(s) within six years of the year in which the paper was presented.Award Committee: Suzie Linn, Penn State University (Chair); Danny Hayes, George Washington University; David Stasavage, New York University

Best Paper in Comparative PoliticsA $500 award sponsored by the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice (JCPA) and International Comparative Policy Analysis Forum for the best paper in comparative policy. The winner(s) may submit their paper to JCPA for an expedited triple blind-fold review process.Award Committee: TBD

Best Paper in International RelationsA $250 award for the best paper on the topic of international relations.Award Committee: Vesna Danilovic, University at Buffalo (Chair); Karl Kalenthaler, University of Akron; David Cunningham, University of Maryland

Best Paper Presented in a Poster FormatA $250 award for the best paper presented in a poster format.Award Committee: Marisa Abrajano, University of California, San Diego (Chair); Jie Lu, American University; Jason Barabas, Stony Brook University

Best Undergraduate Poster AwardA $250 award for the best paper presented in a poster format by an undergraduate.Award Committee: Christine Lipsmeyer, Texas A&M University (Chair); Chris Mann, Skidmore College; Eric Gonzalez Juenke, Michigan State University

Kellogg/Notre Dame Award (co-winners)A $250 award for the best paper in comparative politics.Award Committee: Sarah Brooks, Ohio State University (Chair); Alex Tan, University of Canterbury; Zeynep Somer-Topcu, University of Texas, Austin

Kenneth J. Meier AwardA $250 award for the best paper in bureaucratic politics, public administration, or public policy.Award Committee: Vicky Wilkins, American University (Chair); Christopher Berry, University of Chicago; Valerie Martinez-Ebers, University of North Texas

Lucius Barker AwardA $250 award for the best paper on a topic investigating race or ethnicity and politics and honoring the spirit and work of Professor Barker.Award Committee: Micheal Giles, Emory University (Chair); Valeria Sinclair-Chapman, Purdue University; Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, University California, Los Angeles

Patrick J. Fett AwardA $250 award for the best paper on the scientific study of Congress and the presidency.Award Committee: Scott Ainsworth, University of Georgia (Chair); Christian Grose, University of Southern California; Sarah Binder, George Washington University

Pi Sigma Alpha AwardA $250 award for the best paper presented at the MPSA Annual National Conference. Sponsored by Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society.Award Committee: Peter Enns, Cornell University (Chair); Lonna Atkeson, University of New Mexico; Irfan Nooruddin, Georgetown University

Review of Politics AwardA $250 award for the best paper in normative political theory.Award Committee: Mark Warren, University of British Columbia (Chair); Eileen Hunt Botting, University of Notre Dame; Clarissa Rile Hayward, Washington University, St. Louis

AJPS Award - Best PaperA $1,000 award for the best article appearing in the volume of the American Journal of Political Science published in the year preceding the conference.Award Committee: Adam Berinsky, MIT (Chair); Vera Troeger, University of Warwick; Margit Tavits, Washington University, St. Louis

Harrell Rodgers Graduate Student Travel Scholarship
Committee

The members of this committee select recipients of the
competitively awarded travel scholarships to attend the MPSA Annual Conference.

Investment Committee

This standing committee is chaired by the Treasurer, and
includes the three Vice Presidents and the Executive Director. The committee
reviews the investments and can recommend changes in the investment
policy.

Nominations Committee

Nominations for officers are solicited from the
membership, and the nominations committee selects a slate of officers,
including:

President-Elect (who will serve as President and then
as Immediate Past President)

Five Councilors, serving three-year terms

One Vice President, serving a two-year term

Any other vacancies on the Council; these Councilors
will serve the remainder of the term

The election of officers occurs during the Business
Meeting at the Annual Conference. The Executive Director, Treasurer,
Program Chairperson(s), and Editor(s) are appointed officers.

President-Elect Jan Leighley has selected the following individuals for appointment at the 2016 MPSA conference to serve as the Nominations Committee for officers and council members to be elected in 2017.

Nominations Committee 2017:

Beth Leech, Rutgers University (Chair)Lee Ann Banaszak, Pennsylvania State UniversitySara Mitchell, University of IowaDarren Davis, University of Notre DameGary Segura, Stanford University

Conference Program Committee

The Program Chair(s) appoint the members of the
conference program committee no later than February of the year prior to the
conference for which they are responsible. Each committee member serves as
chair of a section (a subfield or a slice of a subfield) and is responsible for
accepting or rejecting proposals submitted to their section. In addition,
committee members/section chairs organize accepted papers into panels and
identify chairs and discussants for each panel. Committee members meet in
September at the American Political Science Association conference, about six
months prior to their MPSA conference, where they receive a program manual with
detailed instructions.

About MPSA

The Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) was
founded in 1939 and is dedicated to the advancement of scholarship in all areas
of political science.

The purposes of the MPSA are to promote the professional
study and teaching of political science, to facilitate communications between
those engaged in such study, and to develop standards for and encourage
research in theoretical and practical political problems.

As such, MPSA is a nonpartisan association. It does not
support political parties or candidates.